Bronx Man Must Pay $10K for Pirate Signal

The FCC has confirmed a $10,000 fine against a man in New York for operating a pirate signal on 96.5 MHz.

It said Alexander Kissi “willfully and repeatedly” violated the law by operating the station in the Bronx. The commission’s field office issued a Notice of Apparent Liability in June; now the FCC says “despite evidence that Kissi received the NAL,” he had not filed a response, so it affirmed the fine.

The case dates to February, when the FCC responded to a complaint and used a direction-finding vehicle to isolate the source to an antenna on the roof of a two-story building on White Plains Road.

According to the case documents, the station called itself “Life Sat Radio” and was using a Ptek Model FM150E transmitter set to 46 watts feeding the antenna. The commission has said Kissi acknowledged responsibility by phone in March. It also said he had been involved in an earlier incident involving broadcasts at 87.9 in 2002.